My Guardian Pegasus
by AwkwardInfo
Summary: When Rainbow Dash is forced to be the guardian to an autistic pegasus who can't even fly, she is infuriated. She had much better things to do than teach some random pony about socializing. But life has other plans for the two, and as Dash teaches him about how to be a normal pony, she begins to learn the life of one of the most talented ponies she had ever met...
1. Hearth’s Warming

_Okay, just before I start this abomination, I would like to make one thing clear to everyone reading this._

_This is_ not _my prompt._

_The person who actually came up with this originally was someone named WritingSpirit on Fimfiction, and I thought that the story was an absolutely amazing premise. Being slightly autistic myself, I saw it as a great way to represent someone like me in a story by showing how different we are from other non-autistic folk, and as such inspired me to rewrite it. _

_But if you like this take of the story, go check out the original! It's a very underrated fic in the community and I highly suggest you go read it to see how much it meant to me as someone with that sort of mental illness. And also, if someone could get in touch with the creator so that I can speak to them and tell them how much it meant to me, that would be totally awesome!_

_Now, another thing to keep in mind is that this won't be just a retelling of the story with a few more details sprinkled in here or there. No, I plan on adding a few more ideas into the story to make things slightly different from its predecessor._

_So, with that being said, you wanted to read a story, didn't you? Well, strap yourself in, ladies and gentlemen, and get ready for a wild ride!_

_This is..._

_My Guardian Pegasus_

* * *

Hearth's Warming Eve.

It was one of the most awesome holidays of the entire year! There were presents and spending time with friends and family and presents and songs that got drilled into your head over and over again and presents and lots and lots of snow and had she mentioned presents yet?

Okay, _maybe _she was getting a bit to ahead of herself. Yeah, it was supposed to be a celebration of how Equestria got founded and how everyone needs to be nice to each other or else the whole world would freeze over and blah blah blah! All she cared about were the _presents__!_

And she had been planning to give these out for months now.

It was always so difficult to try and keep her mouth shut about them whenever her friends even so much as hinted to what she had to give them, and it hurt her harder than it probably should've. She was just so excited during this time of year that she was practically _bursting _with holiday cheer. She still couldn't believe that it was only a couple of days away!

Rainbow Dash gave a smile as she looked over at the gifts that she had gotten her friends. She had went all out this year with them, and she knew that they would love every single one. Sure, it practically depleted her entire bit stash that she had saved up for the next Wonderbolts event, but she could wait. This was about her friends.

"Alright!" She said to herself, giving another check of the presents. "Let's see if I have everything..."

Alright, so there was that rare diamond Rarity needed from the mountains...check! Hairbrush for Fluttershy...yep! There was that new book Twilight wanted...some bigger saddlebags for AJ...cooking supplies for Pinkie...hmm...she seemed to be missing somepony...but who could it-

"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed, smacking her forehead. "How could I forget my favoritest little pet in the world: Ta-"

She stopped herself quickly, her happy mood suddenly dampened as she began to remember what happened.

"Tank..." She murmured to herself, looking over to the lonesome gift that she had placed behind all the rest, a spot where the tortoise wouldn't be able to spot from his little helicopter mechanism. Sighing in contemplation, she trotted over to the small present, picking it up with her hoof, stroking it with her other, a sad frown adorning her usually chipper mood. "Oh Tank...why'd you have to go and hibernate on me like that?"

She thought back to when she had tried to stop winter from coming to Ponyville just to keep her little buddy around for a little bit longer. She knew that she couldn't really keep the inevitable from happening, but she was Rainbow Dash, the fiercest, awesomest, stubbornest pegasus in all of Equestria! If she put her mind to something, even something as impossible as trying to prevent an entire season to come to her hometown, she would try her absolute hardest to make it come true. Hay, she even tried to sabotage the snow machine in Cloudsdale so that they couldn't make any snow to make winter never come!

Yet sadly, her attempts were in vain. Instead of slowing down the process, she accidentally accelerated it so that snow was going to come _earlier _instead of later, speeding up her favorite pet's hibernation process. She stayed in her room for days after that, trying to keep Tank from falling asleep by using her own body heat to make him stay awake (and she could tell you, it was _not _fun. Being in a house made of clouds in the cold was hard enough. Snuggling with a cold-blooded animal with a shell as hard as a rock was both chilly _and _uncomfortable.). It took her friends coming up and confronting her that she was even able to let him go and hibernate.

She cried for a full week after that, always waking up and expecting him to be in his bed beside her, but seeing nothing but empty space where he was supposed to be.

It wasn't fair! She was supposed to have fun with him this winter! She was going to go sledding with him, build a snowpony, have a snowball fight, teach him how to ice skate, and so much more! Now here she was, all alone in her own home, cuddling with a small box that won't even be opened until Winter Wrap-Up. Her heart began to crack as she started to feel her eyes start to get watery, tears threatening to fall.

"No..." She scolded herself, wiping her face frantically in an attempt to dry her face. "It's Hearth's Warming Season! You're not supposed to cry during Hearth's Warming! It's the season of unity and happiness and giving and all that other sappy jazz! Plus..." She glanced down at the little present with a bittersweet smile. "He'll come back..."

Shaking her head to rid herself of the bad thoughts in her head, Rainbow Dash gently placed the gift onto Tank's bed, ready to be opened when he came back...whenever that might be.

"I hope you're still thinking of me in that hidey-hole of yours..." She says to the box.

It doesn't respond.

"Happy Hearth's Warming, Tank."

Feeling satisfied, Dash stood up, reinvigorated as a new wave of happiness flowed through her veins.

"Enough being sad!" She told herself, smacking her face in an attempt to rid her face of any stray tears to happened to still be on her face. "I've got a job to do!"

Stretching her body to warm it up (again, house in the clouds in the cold. Her joints locked up a lot more than she liked to admit.), she ran out her front door and jumped off, spreading her wings as she aimed her body in the direction of her location: Fluttershy's cottage.

Yeah, she might need to explain a bit.

After Dash's little..._debacle _in Cloudsdale with the snow machine, she had been temporarily suspended from the Ponyville weather team till she could get 'pull herself together'. Not that she was complaining; any time that she could get to relax or get some sleep was always time well spent in her opinion. Unfortunately, with so much free time now at her disposal, one of her oldest enemies came back to haunt her...

Boredom.

She got _bored, _quite soon after she she was suspended. Even she needed a break from crying every once in a while, and in those in-between times, she had nothing to do. Sure, she could go and practice her flying or go read Daring Do or go visit her friends, but she didn't really feel like going to do any of those things. They always reminded her of Tank, and then it would make her think about him all over again, which led to her getting emotional, thus restarting the cycle of crying.

Eventually, Fluttershy, worried that her friend hadn't come down to see anyone in the past week after Tank had left, had flown up to try and convince her to come back down. Dash, still wallowing in self-pity about the loss of her pet, almost didn't come back down until F-Shy mentioned that Dash had to get some money or else she would be kicked out. Her house, originally from Cloudsdale, had a big tax on it since it was so far away from the city, and so, knowing that her bit stash was running a bit low after buying her Hearth's Warming gifts, Dash (begrudgingly) went with her to go find a job.

Sadly, she seemed to have gotten a new reputation in town as 'The Pony Who Tried To Stop Winter', which made her out to be some evil pony who tried to play against Celestia and defy nature. Because of this, no one actually wanted to hire her, not wanting to be known as 'The Store/Business That Hired The Pony Who Tried To Stop Winter'. Thinking that it was just about time to give up on anyone wanting to give her a job, Fluttershy thankfully asked if she could help around her cottage. Raising animals was always very difficult work, but since a lot of her animals were hibernating, it was less crowded than normal, which meant less work around the cottage. Thankfully, Dash accepted, slightly hoping that the pets that F-Shy kept would help fill that empty hole in her heart that Tank left. And with that, she found herself hired by one of her oldest friends...at least, until he got her old job back. She just...needed a bit of time to cope.

After a short flight over Ponyville, Dash landed on Fluttershy's front doorstep, feeling very satisfied by how quick it took to actually get there, seeing as how she hadn't been flying as much as she should have been the past few days. Giving herself a big pat on the back, she knocked on the door and waited for Fluttershy.

And she waited...

And waited...

And waited...

And _oh my gosh is she still waiting?_

Furrowing her brow in confusion, she knocked on the door again, this time with a little more force, putting her ear up to the door to listen for any footsteps.

Nothing.

Grumbling in annoyance, she banged on the door as hard as she could. "Fluttershy!" Dash called, hoping to wake her up from her slumber. "It's Rainbow Dash! I'm ready to start work!"

Again, nothing happened.

"Augh!" She groaned, facehoofing. Well, if she wasn't going to get up on her own, then Dash was gonna do it herself.

She was just about to spread her wings and fly straight into the window when she suddenly heard the lock on her door click and swing open, revealing her yellow pegasus friend.

"Hey, F-Shy! What's uuuuuuuuuu..." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she saw the state that her friend was in.

Poor Fluttershy looked absolutely terrible. Her pink, cotton candy colored mane that usually covered her face was completely frazzled and unkempt, sticking up all over the place. Her normal bright but shy eyes were half-lidded, dark bags hanging underneath them. She was swaying slowly from side to side, seemingly unable to keep her balance even though nothing was making her do so.

And if that wasn't bad enough, then she started _talking._

"Hi, Rainbow..." She muttered, her shy voice sounding scratchy as she coughed to try and get rid of the frog in her throat.

"You look like garbage." Rainbow deadpanned, gesturing to her oldest friend's appearance.

"Oh..." Fluttershy murmured, cringing inwards, a small blush of embarrassment filling her face. "I'm sorry..."

"No, you don't need to...ah, nevermind." Dash was about scold her for her excessive apologizing, but decided against it. She looked stressed enough as it was; she didn't want to add onto the problem.

"So, what's up? Why do you look like Twilight after she pulls a week-long all-nighter?" The cyan pegasus asked.

"Oh, this..?" Fluttershy gestured to her face with her hoof, drawing circles around the bags under her eyes. "I was called to the hospital again to-"

"Wait, wait wait wait wait wait wait...wait." Rainbow interrupted. "Hospital? As in..._hospital_ hospital?"

"Umm...yes?" The butter-colored pony nodded, confused by the sudden question.

Dash's eyes widened in surprise, dread filling her heart. "Who got hurt? Was it AJ? Rarity? _Pinkie!? _Aww, I knew I shouldn't have told her to look for that special soda in the Everfree!? There _is _no special soda in the Everfree! It was just a prank!"

"Rainbow..." Fluttershy whispered, trying to get her attention.

"I can't believe I let this happen! I was so caught up in Tank's hibernating that I haven't been checking the skies to see if you gals are doing something stupid! Ugh, what is _wrong _with me!?"

"Rainbow..!"

"Seriously, I leave you girls do your own thing for _one week, _and now somepony is in the hospital! Gosh, I can't let any of you out of my sight without something bad happening! This is the _last _time I get attached to something and get emotional about it!"

"RAINBOW!"

Said pony stopped her upset rambling, glancing over to the animal lover. "What?"

"No pony was hurt. I was called to the hospital because they had asked me to check on one of the patients that was staying there." Fluttershy explained.

Dash stood there silently for a moment, blinking as what her friend told her sunk in. "Ohh..." She quietly responded. She gave a forced laugh and an even more forced smile. "Y-yeah, I knew that! I was just...uhh...y'know...worried about one of the pegasi on the weather team! Yeah! I usually call them my 'gals', since we're _obviously _so close!"

"But I'm the only one that can fly-"

"That's my reasoning! Don't question it!"

"Right..." Fluttershy begrudgingly agreed, not believing her friend for a second. She wasn't the Element of Honesty, after all.

"So, uhh..." Dash coughed awkwardly into her hoof, trying to change the subject. "How did that lead to you looking like..._that?_"

"Ohh, that...well, this pony is a little bit..._different _than most other ponies..."

"Different?" Rainbow reiterated, receiving a nod. "What do you mean by...different?"

"Ohh, well...he is a bit more..._antisocial _than everypony else that we know..."

"So what, he doesn't talk a lot? That's a kind of a weird problem that you get sent to the doctor for, but whatever." Dash said uncaring.

"Rainbow-"

"Anyway, what happened when you got there?" The rainbow-maned pony asked.

"Ohh, umm...w-well, apparently it took a lot longer than I thought to...umm...calm him down than I thought it would." Fluttershy answered, trying to choose her words carefully. "I didn't get home until after midnight last night, so I didn't get too much sleep..."

_"_What!?" Rainbow shouted angrily. Fluttershy jumped in surprise, scared by her friend's sudden outburst. "What, did he not want to talk to somepony down there, and had to call on some random pony to make him better!? That sounds really stupid!"

"Rainbow!" The yellow-colored pegasus shouted loudly before her friend went into another rant. "It's alright! I was assigned to help him out by the doctors themselves. They said that I was the best pony because I'm very...quiet..."

"Ohh, can he not calm down on his own or something, and needs somepony to cuddle him and tell him that everything is alright!?" Dash yelled, infuriated. "Is he a foal or is he just stupid!?"

"No, Rainbow, it's not that!" Fluttershy tried to reason, realizing she was losing control of the situation quickly. "I'll admit, he is a bit older than someone who should act the way that he does, but that's because-"

"Ohh, so he _isn't _a foal, then!?" Rainbow roared, somehow getting even more enraged than she had before.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash-"

_"That's it!" _Dash screamed, finally having enough of the entire situation. "Who does this guy think he is, stepping all over my friends like that!" Her wings flared up, feathers ruffling in frustration and anger. "Well, he _can't!_"

Suddenly, to Fluttershy's horror, Rainbow Dash's face twisted into a wicked grin, one that she knew all too well back when they lived in Cloudsdale. She saw it when she had been bullied by those pegasi when they were teasing her about not being able to fly, and had only seen it a few times afterwards. She had thought she had gotten rid of that grin a long time ago when Rainbow started to hang out with her, but apparently it seemed that it had come back, and had come back stronger than ever.

"And I'm gonna give him a piece of Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria!"

With that declaration, Dash turned on her hoof and shot herself into the air, aiming for the location that she knew all too well: the Ponyville hospital.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy just stood there in shock, her hair much more frazzled than before. Her pupils dilated and she gulped nervously, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

"W-well, maybe she isn't as mad as I think she is!" She said to herself, trying to look on the bright side.

A sudden explosion made her glance upwards towards the sky, hoping that the noise wasn't what she thought it was. Unfortunately, her suspicions were correct as she saw a rainbow streak flying its way towards the center of town, a circle slowly growing larger from where the streak had just come from.

Yep, that was definitely a Sonic Rainboom.

"Or...maybe not." Fluttershy murmured, her smile dropping.


	2. The Hospital Visit

10 seconds.

That was all the time it took for Rainbow Dash to get from Fluttershy's house to the hospital.

And still she thought she took way too long to get there.

She slammed onto the dirt path that lead to the hospital, not even bothering to slow herself down. The force of the impact left steaming cracks that spider-webbed all around where she landed, all of them slightly glowing with rainbow colors, which were still charged with magic.

"Alright, you little punk..." Dash grumbled, her face twisted into a snarl. "You can't just step on whoever you want and get away with it..." She grinned evilly.

"So get ready for Rainbow Dash to teach you a lesson in manners!"

Looking up from where she landed, she realized that quite a crowd had surrounded her. All of them were staring at her with many different expressions: shock, confusion, annoyance, pity. Some were even whispering to each other, exchanging their thoughts about what was going on and why she was here.

And Dash was starting to hate it.

Usually, she loved getting a lot of attention from other ponies (she did have her own fan club, after all), but after Tank had went into hibernation, she hadn't really cared too much about getting noticed, opting mostly to just stay at her house and mope away. At least then she had somewhat of a positive reputation.

Now they were all judging her.

And she hated being judged.

"What're you all looking at?" She growled at the ponies closest to her, scowling. Almost immediately, the whispering ceased, and the crowd soon started to dissipate one by one, all pretending that they hadn't seen anything at all.

Good. At least they were trying to forget she existed. That was better than making fun of her.

After nearly all the ponies had left her be (some still stood around staring at her), Dash huffed before deciding to head inside.

It was Rainbow time.

* * *

Rainbow Dash burst through the front doors, madder than a hornet on steroids. Nurse Redheart jumped at the sudden intrusion, her namesake pounding inside her chest as the cyan pegasus stomped her way to the desk.

Redheart gulped. She did not look happy.

Trying the friendliest smile she could despite her fear, the nurse greeted the pony with open...legs.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash!" Redheart managed to speak, hoping she sounded less terrified than she felt. "I'm surprised to see you here on your own accord! Normally, we're the ones that have to carry you in whenever something goes wrong. Oh, how things do change! Still, I'm happy you decided to come visit us today! Are you hurt? Do you need some medicine or any medical attention? Is something wrong with one of your friends? Do you need and water-"

"Where's the punk?" Dash growled angrily, stopping Redheart's rambling right in its tracks.

"Punk?" The nurse asked, her terror morphing into confusion. "Do you mean Punk Rock? I mean, no offense to you Miss Dash, but I don't really recall you two being very close. Besides, he was let off, like, a few weeks ago. I think he's still in town but I'm not sure. Maybe you could go-"

"No, not him!" Rainbow groaned, exasperated by the nurse's antics already. "I'm talking about the stallion that Fluttershy is helping out. You know, the one that can't talk or whatever?"

Redheart's eyes widened in surprise as she realized who she was referring to. "Oh, you mean Lost Legacy?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Rainbow grumbled, waving her hoof in dismissal. "What room is he in?"

Redheart frowned, checking over her notes. "I believe he's in... Room 521. Are you just visiting or-"

"YeahcoolIdontcarethanksbye!" Dash sped out of the room, spreading papers all around the room.

Redheart shook her head, trying to wrap her head around what had just transpired. "Well alright then. Bye."

It took her a good five seconds for her mind to give off the first warning signal.

"Wait, did she just call him a punk?"

* * *

Well, that was easier than she thought it would be.

Rainbow Dash zoomed up the stairs, knowing exactly which floor that her victim was on. She had to slow herself down once she got to the designated floor, having to read each sign individually to see what number was on each door. She may have been fast, but reading things were definitely not one of her strong suits.

Then finally, she had found it: Room 521.

The door was a nice oak wood, very polished with the number of the room above a little area where you would place the name of the patient who was occupying the room, which read "Lost Legacy". It looked like it hadn't been removed for quite a while, judging by how dusty and old the paper looked. Overall, it looked like a pretty nice, albeit old door.

Which of course meant that Rainbow smashed through it with no second thought. Admiring somepony's handiwork was Rarity's thing, not hers.

The hinges came off with just one hit, the door crashing to the floor with a loud thud. Rainbow looked around, observing her surroundings.

The room was completely white and colorless, with nothing on the walls, not even a single poster or painting or anything. There was a single bed in the corner of the room, next to a window with white curtains, which were covering her from seeing the outside. The sheets of the bed were also white as well, neatly made as if no one had been sleeping on it at all.

It was incredibly boring to the very colorful Dash. Heck, it even smelled boring.

She was just about to leave, thinking she had gotten the wrong room when she heard a small squeal from the far right corner of the room. She just caught a glimpse of something dashing its way onto the other side of the bed, seemingly trying to hide from the intruder that had made her way into the room.

She grinned. This was going to be way too easy.

Rainbow Dash jumped onto the bed, ruffling the sheets a little as she reached the opposite side of the bed. She swiped her hooves...

...and just barely missed whoever was there as they dove under the bed.

"Hey!" She yelled angrily, shaking her hoof in frustration. "Get back here, you little punk!"

She jumped down of the bed and crouched down, reaching her leg outwards to try and feel for any kind of body that she could snatch up.

She found nothing.

Grumbling in annoyance, she ducked down and tried to fit under the bed. She pushed and pushed, trying her hardest to gain some leeway so she could catch the pony, but she wasn't able to fit.

She begrudgingly gave up on trying to fit through the gap, realizing it was a futile effort to do so. Whoever this pony was, he was very slippery, she'd give him that.

However, Dash wasn't going to give up just yet. She was going to get him, no matter what the cost.

Opting to just look around beneath the bed, she found her prize.

He was covered in darkness, but she could still make out the silhouette of his body in the back against the wall. He was very small, smaller than any full-grown stallion that she had ever seen. He seemed to be shaking just a little bit, judging by the way he shook, and he was covering his eyes with his hooves, whimpering in terror.

Good. She'd be scared if she knew what she was up against.

From that point on, she tried many different but ultimately pointless attempts to try and get him out from his little hiding spot. She tried to reach him by going to the back of the bed where he was, but he was always able to just escape to the other side, no matter how fast she went. She tried to move the bed from the spot, and it took her way too long for her to realize that the bed was bolted to the floor. She even tried jumping it, hoping she could scare him enough to make him leave, but all that seemed to do was just make him more upset.

After jumping for what felt like the hundredth time, she glanced over to the corner he had been before he retreated to the safety of the bed, and she stopped.

Toys. He had been playing with toys.

Four toys, to be exact. There was an abacus (Twilight had to teach her the name after she had seemingly insulted her by calling it the 'weird-looking calculator thing'), one of those ring games that stacked into some kind of rainbow pyramid made out of circles, and a puzzle. None of those were what she was wanting to use, though. It was the fourth one that really caught her eye.

A plush toy. Not just any plush toy, but a tortoise plush toy.

Immediately a dagger of hurt embedded itself into Dash's heart as the memories of her pet flooded into her mind once again. The toy was like a replica of him, with the way his shell was formed to the cute smile that he always seemed to have on him. It made her feel guilty all over again that she didn't try hard enough to stop winter and keep him where he belonged: right by her side.

That guilt soon turned to sadness, then to jealousy, until it reached its final form: anger.

How dare this pony have a tortoise just like the one she had! She was the only one that could even have anything resembling Tank in any way, shape or form! Tank was her pet, not anypony else's! This was just a ripoff version of him!

No wonder this pony didn't have any friends. They were probably all freaked out about how much he loved that toy!

A toy...that he probably cared for...like a pet...

Ding ding ding! Idea time!

Rainbow leaped off the bed, landing just in front of the plush, trying to be as quiet as possible. She put it into her mouth, careful not to make any marks on it with her teeth. She gently trotted over to the front of the bed, and placed the toy close right in front of it, within the field of view of the pony under the bed. She gave herself a pat on the back as she climbed back onto the bed, waiting for her victim to notice her trap.

Almost immediately after jumping back on the bed, the crying stopped. Soon after, the very quiet sounds of hooves were heard, clip-clopping very slowly forwards. Eventually, Dash heard the noise stop, very close to the end of the bed. She glanced over the edge, sitting in a pouncing position, ready to attack.

Eventually, a shaky white leg stretched towards the toy. It inched closer and closer, ready to bring the toy back to his hiding spot.

Finally, the distance between the two closed, the hoof squishing the toy to pull it inwards.

However, it never finished getting it back in.

Rainbow Dash suddenly wrapped her own leg around his, latching him and keeping him from escaping.

"Gotcha."

She pulled with all her might, the pony sliding out from the bed, revealing himself to the rainbow-maned pegasus.

He was a pegasus, which explained why he was able to get away from her so easily, although he was a bit smaller than average. He was pure white, whiter than even Rarity was, which Dash didn't even think was possible. The only things that weren't white were his mane, which was pitch black, and his wings, which, oddly enough, were rainbow-colored. The edges were all the different colors of the rainbow; the feathers blending in to make it seem like they were dyed instead of being natural. However, she knew a dyed coat when she saw one, and the colors were all definitely real. He was born with those unique wings.

That wasn't the most interesting thing to her, though. What really interested her was his flank.

His very blank flank.

There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing.

She couldn't believe it. There was no way. She had never seen a blank flank on a full-grown stallion. They all had a cutie mark, even when they tried to hide them. He had to have one somewhere.

However, she didn't get a lot of time to search him before he did something unexpected.

He screamed.

It was an ear-splitting noise, one that shook her right to the core with how fearful it sounded. His wings flared up, surprising her enough that she almost let her grasp waver. She adjusted quickly, though, as he tried to squirm away from her, desperate to get away and tell somepony about what was going on. He was very strong, much stronger than she had anticipated. He was so strong that he was actually able to twist himself around and face her.

She grinned as he saw his jaw drop when he looked into her eyes.

"Hey, punk..." Dash growled evilly, an dark grin spreading across her face. "I heard that you were taking advantage of my friend, Fluttershy."

He gulped, his eyes widening as she started to giggle.

"And I don't like it when somepony take advantage of any of my friends..."

At that moment, Nurse Redheart arrived, realizing that she had to stop Rainbow Dash before something drastic happened. Apparently, she had come in a bit too late.

"And do you know what I do to ponies who take advantage of my friends?"

The poor colt shook his head frantically, tears in his eyes as he trembled madly, terrified.

Dash's smile grew even wider as she went closer and whispered into his ear.

"They get noogies."

She reached up and started scratching the top of his head with her hoof, putting as much pressure as she could into it. She laughed maniacally as he struggled to get free, trying to find some weak point that he could use to his advantage, but unable to find it. Still, he tried his hardest to make it more difficult for the random intruder that had come into his room.

Meanwhile, a shocked Nurse Redheart stood at the broken doorway, slack-jawed, as her brain tried to process the sight that was transpiring in front of her.

She knew she shouldn't have come into work today.

"Wait!" A sudden voice called from the staircase. A few moments later, a very sweaty and frazzled Fluttershy flew into the hall. Immediately after realizing what Dash was about to do to her poor patient, she practically bulleted her way to the hospital in hopes to stop the inevitable. Unfortunately, being not as athletic as her friend (added with the fact that she didn't really use her wings all that much anyway), she took nearly three times as long to get there.

"Wait..." The pink-maned pony repeated, albeit in a more tired voice than before, panting heavily. "Rainbow...you don't...have to...noogie..."

"Too late." Nurse Redheart replied, not even glancing in Fluttershy's general direction.

"What's going on?!" Another voice called from the stairs. Soon after, Doctor Whooves, one of the doctors from the hospital, galloped his way to the doorway. "I heard a scream. Who's dying?!"

"That would be Legacy, sir. And he's not dying." Redheart reported, finally turning away from the sight before her.

"Oh, great." The Doctor grumbled, rubbing his muzzle with his hoof. "Let me guess: another false alarm?"

"Actually, it isn't...at least, I don't think it is?" The nurse replied with a shrug, not really sure how to elaborate on the situation.

"What do you mean?"

"Well...see for yourself."

The Doctor, still upset from being interrupted from his duties, stepped inbetween the two mares, and watched on.

Rainbow Dash, one of their most frequent patients, was noogieing one of the other "special" patients.

His jaw dropped to the floor, looking on at the sight in awe.

It wasn't that the patient was being basically attacked by somepony else, but rather the fact that he wasn't freaking out.

Legacy had seemingly given up on trying to escape the cyan pegasus, and had just seemed to accept that he was trapped and just let whomever it was keeping doing what they were doing, and he was smiling.

And it was astonishing.

However, despite how much he wanted to observe the very rare occurrence happening before him, the stallion begrudgingly put a stop to their feud.

He cleared his throat, and the effect was immediate.

Both ponies stopped what they were doing, directly turning their attention to the doctor in the doorway.

"Ohh..." Dash gulped, slightly embarrassed by the sudden intrusion. "Hey, umm...what's up, Doc?"

"Rainbow Dash..." He asked in a quiet, calm tone of voice. "Can you please explain why you are aggressively noogieing one of the patients in our hospital for seemingly no reason?"

Rainbow's pupils dilated. She knew what was about to happen. That tone of voice didn't mean anything good, despite how subdued it sounded. She knew what it meant.

She was in big trouble.

"Well..." Dash tried for a nervous smile, unable to think of a decent excuse right off the top of her head. "Umm...well, you see...I was here because...uhh..."

"R-Rainbow..." A quiet voice stuttered.

Everypony went silent.

They all looked between each other, all just as confused as the next.

"D-D-Dash..."

This time, they all pinpointed where the voice originated from, and they all looked at the same pony.

It was Lost Legacy.

"R-Rainbow...Dash..."

The Doctor, Nurse Redheart, and Fluttershy all gasped in surprise, unable to comprehend what was happening. The only one that wasn't surprised was Dash herself, who just raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yyyyyyyeah..." She responded, nodding her head in agreement. "That's my name. Don't wear it out."

The Doctor was completely dumbfounded at this point. He had never seen Legacy open up that fast, to anypony, including him and Fluttershy. He barely spoke a word, if at all, to him or any of the nurses. The fact that he was even speaking to a complete stranger had blown his expectations right out of the water.

"Rainbow Dash..." He asked again, still keeping his eyes on Legacy.

"Y-yes?" She asked hesitantly.

"Can you come with me to my office for a minute, please?"

Yep. She was definitely in trouble now.


	3. Consequences

Hospitals were creepy. At least, that was Rainbow's opinion.

Every time she visited after some trick gone wrong only increased that feeling. She was always more of an outdoorsy pony than anything else, even from a young age. She liked the feeling of being out in the open air, flying in the sky, wind in her mane, exhilarating her and egging her to go faster than she ever had before. Being inside made her just feel cramped, and up until recently, she had made it her prime directive to stay outside as long as possible.

So you can imagine her frustration as she sat outside of Doctor Whooves's office as he, Fluttershy, and Nurse Redheart conversed between each other, their conversation muffled by the door.

Dash was nervous, more so than she would like to admit (which she wouldn't). Sure, she may have broken into somepony's house once or twice, but those were all accidents. She had deliberately infiltrated a random patient's room in a hospital just to give them a noogie because they had made F-Shy sleep a little less than normal. She hadn't cared about the consequences at the time.

She really wished she had now.

What were they going to do to her? Was she gonna get fined out of all her bits? Would she have to give up her house? What if they got the princesses involved? Would she revoked of her title as Element of Loyalty? Would she get banished from Ponyville, or even Equestria?! What if-

"Miss Dash?"

The sudden voice made the cyan pony jump slightly, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked over to see Nurse Redheart at the doorway, a neutral expression on her face, annoying Rainbow that she couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"The Doctor would like to see you now." Redheart said, grinning smugly at the line.

Dash groaned at the clichéd line, rolling her eyes. "Did you really have to say that?" She asked, unamused.

"Yes." Redheart answered simply.

Rainbow gave the nurse a glare, her face contorted into a frown as she made her way inside the office.

It was a very atypical office for a doctor. There were many machines of various complexities all around the room, some working and some not. There were counters covered in books and papers, with references and marked pages strewn about. For somepony that claimed to be a doctor, it seemed he was more on the "mad scientist" side rather than medical.

The Doctor stood in the center of the room, Fluttershy by his side, trying to hide her face behind her pink mane. They seemed to be whispering in hushed tones, possibly so that they wouldn't be heard from the outside in case somepony wanted to listen in. There was something about the way they were moving, or maybe it was their posture, but she could see it from a mile away.

This was not going to be a nice conversation.

"Ahh, Miss Dash!" Doctor Whooves's eyes widened as he took notice of the new guest. "Please, come in! Make yourself at home!" He greeted with a smile, motioning for her to come in.

Rainbow, still a bit cautious about what was going on, slowly trotted her way inside, the feeling in her chest tightening. Making her way to the middle of the room, she faced the Doctor and his companion with a fearful expression.

This was it. She was about be kicked out of Equestria.

At least maybe she can keep her dignity before she leaves.

Doctor Whooves cleared his throat.

"Miss Da-"

"I'M SORRY!"

Welp, so much for her dignity.

"I just got so mad because Legolas or whatever his name is made Fluttershy stay up late last night so she didn't get much sleep and I wanted to make him feel bad for hurting her and I wasn't thinking straight and please don't make me leave Equestria!" She begged, her hooves clasped together in a gesture of pleading.

The Doctor blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then, he started to snicker. A smile spread across his face as he began to chuckle.

Soon enough, he was practically rolling on the floor, laughing and crying at the same time.

Dash, completely and utterly confused, shook herself out of her daze. "H-hey!" She yelled, getting more nervous by the second. "Stop laughing!"

She apparently didn't seem to catch his attention as he started to howl even harder.

"Stop it!" Dash repeated, starting to shake. Whether from fear or anger or a mix of the two, she didn't know.

The Doctor started to breathe in a few short breaths... and then he kept laughing.

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Rainbow Dash roared, her face flushing a deep red.

Finally, after what had seemed like forever, the Doctor eventually calmed himself down enough to speak again.

"O-ohh, wow!" He exclaimed, wiping a tear from his eye, still giggling to himself. "Rainbow Dash, you are too funny!"

Now it was her turn to be confused. The rainbow-maned pony glanced around, trying to figure out what she had said that had made him laugh so hard. "What?"

"Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy smiled at her friend, trying to suppress her own laughter. "You're not going to be banished from Equestria!"

Dash's jaw dropped, a feeling of awe washing over her system. "I-I'm not?" She practically squeaked out, her normally scratchy voice now several pitches higher.

"No!" Doctor Whooves shook his head, finally in control of his emotions. "Over something this minor? If that were the case, Celestia would have banished me to the moon ages ago!"

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of her body.

"However..."

Aaaaaaaand, now its back.

"...there is still the issue of Legacy, and what you did..."

Dash gulped, knowing that she was about to get the talking to of her life.

"From what I've gathered from Nurse Redheart and your friend Fluttershy, it appears that you were upset that patient Lost Legacy made Fluttershy stay a little bit later than usual and made her lose some sleep. Is that correct?" The Doctor asked, looking for agreement.

Rainbow Dash nodded silently, a bead of sweat starting to form on her face.

"And so, in retaliation, you decided to...noogie him?" The Doctor questioned further.

She nodded again, starting to squrim a little from how uncomfortable the mood was.

"Well, I believe that's all I needed to know." Doctor Whooves says with a smile. He walked over to the trembling pegasus, who seemed to be getting more and more nervous about the situation at hoof.

"Miss Rainbow Dash..." He starts slowly, pacing around the poor pony. "Do you know what the punishment is for assaulting a patient in his own room is?"

"N-no..." Dash answered quietly, her normal scratchy voice shaking a little, trying to still look cool despite how terrified she was.

"Normally, you would be fined a little over 100 bits, possibly even more if the injury is serious enough." The Doctor explains. "In some cases, however, for assaulting a pony with special needs, you would be fined over 200 bits, and even face..." He leans in, whispering into Rainbow's ear.

"Jailtime."

Dash couldn't help but squeal a little at the way he said it, unintentional tears forming in her eyes.

"Now, something like this hasn't happened in this hospital in several years." Whooves kept going, ignoring the shivering pegasus next to him. "I thought that such an incident would never occur in my hospital, especially from somepony of such high standing in the community."

"So, as much as I hate to do something like this...Miss Rainbow Dash?"

Said pony looked up, muzzle to muzzle with the Doctor staring into her soul. Dash quivered in fear, trying her best to keep her self from crying in front of him.

Slowly, he breathed in, as Dash closed her eyes tightly, preparing herself for the terrible punishment she was going to be offered.

"...and I'm willing to give you a compromise."

Now that wasn't what Rainbow Dash expected.

In an instant, everything slowed to a standstill. Her shaking subsided, she stopped sweating, her heart ceased to beat. She could hardly believe the words she was hearing.

And then it all started back up again, like nothing had ever happened.

"...what?" She asked, feeling a minuscule bit of hope rising from the depths of her stomach.

The Doctor smirked at the pony, happy that she had gotten over her little fit so quickly.

"You know what I said." He answered knowingly.

Rainbow Dash returned the grin full force, jumping up into the air faster than he could even process. She flew around the room, doing flips and corkscrews, rolling through the office with the force of a bolt of lightning. Papers were knocked out of place, and Fluttershy had to shield her mane from the oncoming Dash storm, but Rainbow didn't care.

She was just happy that she got off the hook.

"That doesn't mean that you don't have to pay for what you did." Doctor Whooves shouted at the speeding pegasus.

Rainbow Dash stopped in midair, a la Pinkie style, her body frozen in place. It took her a few seconds to grasp what she was just told.

And then gravity brought her back to reality.

Dash smacked right back onto the floor, her legs splayed out away from her body. Trying to save some sort of face, she scrambled her way back up, hoping that the cool face that she was putting on was at least believable.

"Ahem..." She coughed into her hoof, glaring at a giggling Fluttershy. "Please continue, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled lightly at the pegasus, but this one was a little different from the others. No, this was a guilty smile, one filled with pain and remorse, but also a very hopeful one as well.

"I'm not sure if you quite understand, but Mister Legacy is a bit of a..._special _pony." He said, his voice dropping down to a whisper.

"Yeah, Fluttershy said the same thing." Dash replied, getting a little annoyed at how everyone kept mentioning that to her over and over again. "But I still don't get it. What makes him so much better than everypony else?"

"Ohh, Rainbow..." Fluttershy muttered quietly, finally speaking up after being silent for all this time. "Legacy is...h-he has...well, you see, some ponies..."

She slowly began to curl up slightly into herself, lowering her head so that her hair covered her slowly reddening face. She didn't want to be the one to reveal it...it hurt her too much to mention.

Doctor Whooves sighed heavily, knowing that he would have to be the one to tell Rainbow Dash what was going on with the poor colt.

"Miss Dash..." He started, closing his eyes and bowing his head in guilt and sorrow. "Legacy has something called Autism Spectrum Disorder."

Dash raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side in confusion as she tried to process what she had never heard of before. "Artisa wha?" She questioned, completely butchering the name, not bothering to even try to pronounce the other words.

"Autism Spectrum Disorder." The Doctor repeated, chuckling a bit at the mispronunciation.

"What's that?" She asked, scrunching her eyebrows and pouting a little. She hated learning, but she was really curious as to why this pony was so _special _like everyone said he was.

"It's a mental disorder that affects how a pony socializes and communicates with other ponies." He explained.

"Uhh, okay, so he's like Twilight when she gets too into her books, or Fluttershy when she's not around animals?" Dash pursed her lips in thought, not really understanding what made him so much different that he had to be put in a hospital for it.

"Well...not exactly..." Doctor Whooves contemplated for a minute before starting again. "While your friends may express some of the characteristics, what Legacy has is a bit more..._extreme._"

"So what? Can't he just go out and talk to ponies?" Dash commented, still trying to wrap her head around all this.

"That's just it, Rainbow." Fluttershy piped up again, getting over her embarrassment from earlier. "What he has makes it very hard to talk to other ponies."

"Precisely." The Doctor agreed, nodding his head. "You see, Legacy has a very hard time understanding social cues like a pony's body language and expressions, and sometimes he doesn't quite understand how another pony feels."

"What?" Rainbow Dash scoffed loudly, not believing a word. "How can a pony just _not _learn how to socialize? What, did he not have any parents to teach him the ins and outs of how to talk?"

She waited for an answer between both ponies.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It wasn't until she caught the somber and disapproving looks staring right back at her that reality began to fully sink in.

She gasped quietly, ears flattening, magenta eyes nearly bulging out of her head as the realization hit her like a train, tears threatened to well up and fall down her muzzle, but she forced herself to hold them back. She couldn't dare let anyone see her cry.

She had cried enough after Tank had went into hibernation.

She didn't want to do it again.

And she _wouldn't._

Not if she could help herself.

"Rainbow Dash?"

The cyan pegasus was taken away from her thoughts as the Doctor called her name, his voice low and emotionless as he glared right into her soul.

"I understand what happened to him is quite tragic." He began slowly, heaving a sad sigh. "All of the doctors and nurses here have tried our hardest to teach him and help him learn the basics of speech and the aspects of socialization with other ponies."

"But despite all our best efforts...it's been all in vain."

"He doesn't interact with any of the other patients in the hospital. There are only a hoofful of ponies who can even get him to_ talk, _with me being one of them. The few times we do get a word out of him, it's only a couple of incomplete sentences, and most of the time he asks us to leave him alone."

A small, barely audible sniffle came from Rainbow Dash despite her best efforts. This was getting to be too much for her. She didn't mean to practically traumatize a full-grown orphaned foal! She just wanted to make him pay for hurting her friend! She was just being loyal!

Right?

"We have tried to forcibly interact with other ponies in the past, however." Doctor Whooves continued, unaware or, more likely, ignoring Dash's little show of emotion. "We've created a schedule for him to be outside of his room for at least an hour every day; we've invited some of the patients to come and join him so he could have some fun with them; hay, we've even brought in some therapists and rehabilitation ponies like Fluttershy to help him out!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the downtrodden buttery pony.

"However, none of these methods have been successful in breaking through to him..."

Dash could feel her heart ripping apart hearing this story. Such a poor pegasus, all alone in this world with no one to help him. She could feel the wetness begin to form, ready to drop to the floor.

"Except for one."

Dash looked up, her eyes puffy and ready to spill out all of the pain that she felt to this seemingly random pony that she had just met only a few hours ago.

"W-who?" She asked, her voice cracking as she let one single teardrop force its way down her cheek, and falling to the ground with a silent plop.

The Doctor smirked knowingly as he raised his hoof and pointed towards the nearly broken mare.

"You."


	4. Companion

If you know anything about the goings on in Ponyville, you might have heard of the Legend of the Screaming Pony.

According to town folklore, when Ponyville Clinic was first being built, an unlucky pegasus crashed into the build site, and had gotten themselves stuck underneath a large wooden beam, unable to get free. They cried and cried for help, but no one ever came, and it's said that their soul still haunts the grounds, still crying out for someone to help them.

Now, of course, this was just an old pony's tale. If you looked at the town records, there was never any mention of a pony getting stuck or even hurt during the construction, and the story was filled with so many holes that you could call it Swiss cheese.

But it wasn't really about if the story was true or not. It was just a cute tale to scare the young ponies during a camp out, or to tell a tourist who happened to pass through. It was something that you could relate to others with, because you could have fun making up your own interpretation of what actually happened that night, and it would all be in good fun.

However, a lot more ponies actually started believing that story after that day in the hospital.

And that was mostly due to Rainbow Dash's ear-piercing screech.

"WHAT?!"

Doctor Whooves had to cover her ears to keep them from exploding from the sound, which shook the entire room, turning the already messed up office even more cluttered than before, knocking over the books and papers that had just barely survived Dash's victory laps around the area to the floor. Whatever anguish and hurt that the cyan pony had felt beforehand instantly evaporated at the mere mention of taking care of somepony else.

And by Celestia, she was gonna let them know it.

"Are you kidding?!" She yelled, slowly trotting her way towards the Doctor, who was backing away in fear of getting bucked out of existence. "Me, taking care of somepony like him?! Yeah, that's a laugh!"

Doctor Whooves, still scrambling backwards, tried his best to take back control of the situation.

"M-miss Dash, I'm s-sorry you feel that way, b-but-"

It didn't go over very well.

"I'm the fastest flier in all of Equestria!" She cried out, face turning red in anger. "I'm the head of Ponyville's weather team, and soon, I'm gonna be a Wonderbolt!" Her eyes flashed in a moment of envy as she imagined herself being on one of the greatest flying teams ever, before going right back to unrelenting rage once more.

Like a predator approaching its prey, Rainbow Dash had backed the poor pony into a corner, the light making her look incredibly intimidating with her wings extended, the poor Doctor cowering against the wall.

"I'm not the type of pony who takes care of others!" She screamed, pounding the ground with her hoof. "I have dreams of being something better, something more! I'm a strong, independent mare!"

And as she took her last few steps towards the quivering stallion, she grit her teeth as hard as she could as she forced out the last words before her attack.

"And I'm not gonna let some slow pony like him stand in my way."

"Rainbow Dash, that's enough!"

Both ponies jumped in surprise, completely forgetting about the fact that Fluttershy was still in the room with them.

And it looked like she was in full-on stare mode, specifically aimed right at Dash.

Feeling targeted, the rainbow-maned pegasus tried her best to explain, still a bit shocked at how her friend wasn't sticking up for her. "But he-"

"No, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy interrupted. "I won't stand for this! This is completely uncalled for!"

Rainbow Dash could feel her body stiffen up from her friend's infamous stare, keeping her locked in place. She tried to reply, but found that she wasn't able to do so.

"All Doctor Whooves was trying to do was help you find a way out of your situation instead of having to pay, and you go and attack him?" The pink-haired pony chastised, shaking her head. "I would be surprised if he even let you get off after this!"

"Umm, I'm right here, you know?"

"Be quiet, you!" Fluttershy turned her attention to the Doctor, who instantly shut his mouth right then and there. Satisfied, she went back to Dash.

"I understand that you may not want to do this, but you've been letting your anger get the better of you recently, and you need to find someway to fix it!"

"That pony out there needs your help!" She gestured to the door. "But you won't even consider helping! After what you did to him, and after all he's been through?" Her frown deepened. "I thought you were the Element of Loyalty."

Dash gasped (or tried to, rather, considering her mouth was stuck shut), her anger evaporating instantly. She couldn't believe it.

It wasn't like she hadn't heard it from other ponies before, more recently so after the Mare Do Well incident. Ever since she had been deemed an Element Bearer, there had been countless others claiming that they could do the job better. Most of the time she heard about it whenever some group she passed by thought she wasn't listening, but there were those times when the braver ones outright said it right to her face.

But to hear it come from one of her oldest friends, and another Element Bearer, no less...

Being scolded is harsh.

Being scolded by a good friend is even worse.

But being scolded by your _silent _friend?

Ouch.

But Fluttershy still wasn't done.

"And how could you say that about him?" She demanded. "He didn't have any control of how he would end up, and I certainly don't believe that he would like it if he knew what you said about him just now. I know I would be."

Feeling as though she had given her friend a good berating, Fluttershy eased her stare, releasing the tomboy. Dash's face fell as she bowed her head in shame, her ears flattening against her mane as the guilt filled her once more.

Fluttershy, seeing the change in her friend's demeanor, gave her a small smile.

"I understand that you're upset about Tank, Rainbow Dash." She started, her voice much calmer than before. "But you need to understand that some things just can't be controlled. Legacy didn't get a choice on staying here, or having nopony else in his life, but you can change that! You could help him feel better, and understand how to make friends, and how to communicate with other ponies! Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Dash murmured, her voice scratchier than normal, still feeling a bit upset over her outburst. It felt odd, feeling so guilty after doing something wrong, considering how big her ego was, but it did happen on occasion, and she still hadn't gotten used to it yet.

Fluttershy's smile fell at seeing her friend's unchanging state, but didn't say anything more. Knowing Dash, she would be back to her normal self within a few hours. Still, being the Element of Kindness, she felt as though she could've done a little bit more to help her.

"S-so, is she good?"

Both ponies looked over at the Doctor, no longer quivering against the wall and able to speak once more.

"O-oh, yes!" Fluttershy nodded, her voice much quieter as she realized she was being watched that whole time, blushing as she hid behind her mane. "You can continue, Doctor."

"Thank you." He replied, picking himself off the floor, dusting his coat and fixing his ruffled mane to look presentable as he made his way back to his desk.

"Now, where was I?" He pondered for a bit, before getting himself back on track. "Ahh, yes! You!"

"Like I said, Mister Legacy doesn't talk very much, especially to ponies that he's just met. It took him a few months to even say something to me, and I've been his doctor for quite the while, almost his entire life."

"But _you, _Rainbow Dash, have somehow been able to not only say something, but also have him connect with you in a way that I've never seen him do with any other pony. I mean, he couldn't take his eyes off of you! That's practically unheard of for a pony like him to do something like that!"

Rainbow Dash didn't respond, still looking at the floor, barely listening, going through her thoughts about what she should do.

Doctor Whooves gulped silently, his Adam's apple bobbing as he started sweating slightly, feeling as though the 'fastest flier in Equestria' could head butt him into the next room at any moment.

"S-so, I thought that maybe you could, I don't know...take him home with you and teach him how to be a proper pony?" He squeaked out, squeezing his eyes shut as he prepared himself for the inevitable punch to the snout he was about to face.

However, her response was something that he never could've expected.

"Sure." Dash said, almost inaudibly.

"I'll help him out."

The Doctor opened up his eyes, processing her statement before sighing in relief. "Oh sweet Celestia, thank you!" He moaned to the sky, face planting on his desk.

It took him a few seconds to realize that there were still other ponies in the room with him. He sat up rather quickly, pupils dilated as he took in the very confused faces of both pegasi. Clearing his throat in an attempt to regain some semblance of normalcy, he pushed a button on his desk. A few moments later, Nurse Redheart came through the door.

"Yes, Doctor?" She asked, not focusing on the other two mates in the room.

"Could you get Legacy's things packed up for him? I believe that he's finally found himself somepony who can help him." He said, glancing towards Rainbow Dash. Redheart followed his eyes and smiled happily before leaving to get things ready for Legacy's departure.

Bringing his attention back to the two Elements of Harmony, the Doctor gave them a small grin.

"Thank you for your time. Honestly, I didn't want you to spend any time in jail or pay the court of fine. This was the best option for you, Rainbow Dash."

Dash didn't reply, still looking at the floor, kicking her leg back and forth as if playing with a pebble on the ground.

Fluttershy gave a fake cough as she made her way to the door, tugging on the cyan mare's tail with her teeth.

"Thank you for this, Doctor Whooves! I'm sure you won't regret it!"

The Doctor nodded his head in agreement as he waved them both goodbye, the door shutting behind the two as he began the paperwork needed to let his patient out of the hospital.

As they began their trek to the front desk, Fluttershy decided that now was the best time to ask now that there were no prying ears around them to hear their conversation.

"So..." She started, swallowing the lump that had conveniently made its way in her throat. "Why did you change your mind?"

Once again, Rainbow Dash didn't say anything. Fluttershy frowned a little, turning her attention back to their walking before her friend finally responded.

"I just thought about what you said, and decided to go and help him. That's it." She practically grunted out, not looking up from the floor.

Fluttershy nodded her head solemnly. She definitely didn't believe her in the slightest, but she understood. If Rainbow Dash wanted to keep a secret from her, then that was perfectly fine. After all, she wasn't the Element of Honesty.

Plus, she didn't exactly want to cause another outburst. No one would be happy when Rainbow Dash isn't happy.

They continued in silence as the approached the front doors, where Nurse Redheart had just finished packing all of Lost Legacy's things into a bag. He didn't have much, just a few toys and his medicine, but it was enough for a small sack.

Redheart's eyes brightened up as she saw them. "Oh, good, you're here!" She cried out happily, grinning as she pushed the bag over to the rainbow pegasus, who picked it up silently. "He's right over there! I'm so glad that he's finally found somepony that makes him happy!"

"Yeah, happy..." Dash muttered to herself as she glared over at the pony sitting on the chair waiting. Sensing he was being watched, he looked over at her, expression unchanging. She trotted her way over as he stared at her all the while, not even blinking.

"Welp, you ready to go?" The cyan mare asked uncaringly.

He nodded silently, still not looking away.

"Then come on."

And then they were off, Dash pushing through the front doors of the hospital as her new "patient" followed behind her.

Nurse Redheart and Fluttershy watched them go on their own, sad looks on their faces.

"Do you think this was a good idea?" Redheart asked as the doors closed behind the two.

Fluttershy sighed, shaking her head with closed eyes.

"I don't know." She responded simply.

"I don't know."


End file.
